PAS: We won’t campaign for BN
> Up to the people how they vote, says vice-president Mohd Amar
SHAH ALAM: PAS has rejected overtures from Umno to campaign for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the upcoming Sungai Kandis by-election.
PAS vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said: “We did not have any discussions about this with BN, but we do not compete, that’s all. We will not help in any campaigning because we are not contesting. “
“When it comes to voting, it’s up to the people,” he said when met by reporters during the Kelantan State Assembly sitting at the Kota Darul Naim complex.
Earlier, Selangor Umno chief Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob said his party will go all out to form a working relationship with PAS to ensure BN’s win in the by-election.
The recently elected Umno vicepresident stressed that cooperating with the Islamic party is one of the ways to ensure Umno wins the hearts of Sungai Kandis’ constituents, most of whom are Malay Muslims.
Even though the PAS leadership has yet to voice its stand on this, PAS secretarygeneral Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan has instructed party members to vote on the interests of Islam or Malays as well as the nation’s future.
Umno is expected to meet with PAS either today or tomorrow to finalise their potential working relationship for this by-election.
Meanwhile, PKR’s Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni yesterday claimed that Mohd Yusof Abdullah, the PAS candidate for the seat in the 14th general election (GE14), has pledged to support him in the by-election.
“Mohd Yusof had openly told me that he will render his support to me. He had also said that he would ask his family members and close associates to vote for me,” Mohd Zawawi said at a press conference at PKR’s Sungai Kandis by-election operation centre yesterday.
The tahfiz school principal said this when asked to comment on the rebuttal by former Meru assemblyman Abd Rani Osman to Mohd Zawawi’s claim on Monday that the 7,000 hardcore PAS supporters will vote for him in the polls.
Mohd Zawawi is going up against Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam and independent candidate Murthy Krishnasamy.
The Sungai Kandis state seat fell vacant following the death of its assemblyman PKR’s Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei on July 2 due to lymphatic cancer. Polling: Aug 4